No more a rival, Bernie Sanders poised to endorse Hillary Clinton

Sanders is slated to proclaim his support for Clinton at a campaign event the former secretary of state is holding in New Hampshire

Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders is expected to endorse Hillary Clinton as the Democratic nominee for president at an upcoming campaign event in New Hampshire on July 12, the New York Times reported.

After three weeks of private preparatory meetings, Sanders is slated to proclaim his support for Clinton at a campaign event the former secretary of state is holding in New Hampshire.

The Clinton campaign on Thursday confirmed the event but did not provide details, including any mention of Sanders.

Sanders, in an interview on Thursday, came as close to endorsing Clinton as he ever has, saying: “We have got to do everything that we can to defeat (Republican rival) Donald Trump and elect Hillary Clinton. I don’t honestly know how we would survive four years of a Donald Trump as president.”

According to Democrat sources, the endorsement was partly the result of daily talks between Clinton’s campaign manager, Robby Mook, and the Sanders’s campaign manager, Jeff Weaver, about bringing together the two rivals and advancing the policy priorities of the senator who withdrew from the presidential race in June.

Sanders’s endorsement is also expected to ensure that he has a prominent speaking slot at the Democratic convention scheduled to take place from July 25 to 28 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, the sources said.

They added that it was not clear yet when Sanders would speak or whether the convention would include a full roll-call vote on Clinton and Sanders as candidates for the party’s nomination.

Sanders has been seeking policy concessions from Clinton on college tuition — which happened Wednesday, as Clinton rolled out a proposal to make tuition free at in-state public colleges and universities for those earning less than $125,000 per year for a family of four.

Obama endorsed Clinton during a joint event in North Carolina on Tuesday, and she is set to campaign with Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr. in Pennsylvania on Friday.

Democrats are set to meet Friday and Saturday in Orlando to finalize their platform ahead of the party’s convention.